


Chapel of Love

by Bootsncatz (bootsncatz)



Series: Wishin and Hopin [3]
Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: AND IT'S CUTE, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, also all their kids are there, for realsies, major feels, now it's 2008, wishin and hopin one shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-31
Updated: 2018-05-31
Packaged: 2019-05-16 09:42:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14808899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bootsncatz/pseuds/Bootsncatz
Summary: It's 2008 and same sex marriage is legal in California. Waverly has loved Nicole for forty years. All the ups and down have finally come to this moment. Really, just an excuse for some fluff.





	Chapel of Love

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> Here is my lame excuse for fluff and seeing these two dummies being happy together. 
> 
> As always, special shout out to [theGayNerd](https://twitter.com/iamthegaynerd) and [LuckyWantsToKnow](https://twitter.com/moxiepurzell) for being my awesome betas. 
> 
> PS: Lucky told me to make it sexier so thank her for that.

_California, June 2008_

Nicole straightened her knee out in front of her, holding in her grimace. Still, Waverly caught her stretching and looked pointedly at her with the same “I told you so” look she’d directed at Nicole for the past forty years. Nicole just pointed at Waverly from her spot on the ground. 

“Not a word,” she said rubbing her knee. 

“I told you not to sit on the ground with your knee,” Waverly lectured, “I told you to wait until Alice got back here with those chairs.”

“I can’t believe I forgot those,” Nicole sighed, letting her head drop back again the cement wall she was leaning on. 

Waverly kicked the bottom of Nicole’s shoe lightly, “I told you to go with her.”

“I’m not leaving you here alone waiting for our marriage license,” Nicole said getting up from the ground. There were a few more grunts and aches involved than when she was in college, but she considered herself pretty spry for sixty years old. 

Waverly rolled her eyes good naturedly. “We’re only here an hour early, it’s not like we were camping out.”

Nicole patted her ribs with a smile. “For these old bones it might as well be.”

Waverly wrapped her arms around Nicole’s middle and snuggled her face into her neck. Honey brown hair had started to pale and fade into white. Waverly found herself needing her reading glasses more and more. Lowly lit restaurants had become her recent enemy, finding it almost impossible to read the menu without some light. Nicole was starting to lose her hearing in her right ear and sometimes got startled when Waverly approached her from that side. Their years together were etched in the lines on their faces but Nicole thought Waverly was just as beautiful as the day she saw her biking through campus. When her world slowed and faded and Waverly became the center of her universe. Even if she didn’t want to be at first. 

Waverly took Nicole’s left hand and held it in front of her, still snuggled into Nicole’s front. Her fingers brushed over the simple gold band she had put on Nicole’s finger almost forty years ago. 

“We’re getting married,” she whispered, “Finally.”

“Finally,” Nicole said pressing a kiss into Waverly’s hair. 

Like every couple, they had had their fair share of ups and downs. Especially when Nicole was about forty and went to therapy for what they now knew was PTSD. Things got worse before they got better, but there was a time Nicole wasn’t sure if they’d make it through unscathed. 

In Nicole’s mind, they were nothing less than married. No piece of paper could tell them what they really meant to each other. But it was the symbolism of it all. Of finally being able to say that, yes, they were married. They could now do all the boring things previously reserved for straight couples like sign documents for each other and buy a house together. But they could also be each other’s next of kin and couldn’t be banned from each other’s death beds. Things that had felt increasingly important lately. 

Waverly wanted to be the first couple in their city to receive their marriage certificate. She said she’d been waiting forty years to marry Nicole and she wasn’t going to wait a moment longer. 

“I just can’t believe it,” Waverly said. Nicole could hear the emotion in her voice. “After all this time.”

“I know, baby,” Nicole said pressing another kiss to the side of her head.

Waverly leaned back in Nicole’s arms, eyes shining with tears as she looked up at her. “You know, for a little bit I thought this would never happen...that we would never be able to get married legally. But now-...look at us.”

“Look at us,” Nicole smiled, “We’re getting married.”

“We’re getting married,” Waverly sighed, wiping away a stray tear from her cheek. “You know how many times we marched for this?”

“A lot,” Nicole said with a squint, “I don’t even know if I can remember anymore.”

“We fought so hard,” Waverly said, voice thick, “And now here we are.”

“Here we are,” Nicole said kissing Waverly’s forehead. Waverly sighed and pressed her face back into Nicole’s chest. They just stood like that for a few minutes, just breathing each other in. All of this...it felt so important. Like they were a part of history in some small way. They were holding each other in front of a government building and no one seemed to care. Not right now anyways. Sure there were still the bigots of the world, but right now it felt like they finally won. It seemed to hit Nicole all at once.

“We’re getting married.”

Waverly hummed.

“Are you sure about this, love?” Nicole teased, “You’ll be stuck with me the rest of your life you know.”

She felt Waverly smile against her chest. “I’ve wasted my beauty years on you, what’s another few?”

“I think your beauty years are just starting,” Nicole smirked. 

Waverly scoffed despite the blush on her cheeks. “Age has made you sappy, Haught.”

“That’s Sheriff Haught to you,” Nicole said ducking to kiss Waverly’s forehead. 

“Oh, my mistake,” Waverly teased with a roll of her eyes. “I thought after being retired for almost ten years you lose the title.”

Nicole huffed reflectively when she was reminded of her retirement. Waverly had made Nicole promise that she would retire by her fiftieth birthday so that she could give her knee some much needed rest. She knew that as Sheriff she was really only expected to stay in the station and manage her deputies, but she had still insisted on the occasional patrol. The year before she retired, she went on a B and E call that ended with her being shot at. She was fine, just a few bruises, but Waverly was convinced she would have been able to escape the incident unscathed had her knee not locked up on her at the last moment. 

On the surface, Nicole appeared less than pleased about the much needed change. But she had been looking forward to being able to spend more time with Waverly. Maybe travel some more. Admittedly, part of her had been worried about what thoughts might invade her head if she was allowed to be idle for too long. It wasn’t a problem she’d had in years now but-...she still worried.

But then they moved to California, somewhere they’d both wanted to live for a while. And Wynonna and Eliza followed them, even if they didn’t admit to it. Wynonna claimed she was just following the work. Waverly still owned Shorty’s, but John Henry stayed behind to run it and she was fine with that.

“Yes,” Nicole sighed, “I’m just an old retired woman now.”

“You retired for both of us,” Waverly said pointedly, “And Alice, Luke and Evie.”

“Right. I have to live long enough that Evie decides she likes me again,” Nicole mused. 

“Don’t say that. She’s just a teenager,” Waverly countered with a small smile. 

“You just say that because you’re her favorite,” Nicole pointed out. 

Waverly shook her head. “Well you’ve always been Luke’s favorite. You were Evie’s favorite when she was little. It was only fair I got my turn.”

The roar of a motorcycle coming down the street interrupted their conversation, and Waverly sighed. Wynonna roared up on her Harley, still in her signature leather jacket and with Evie on the back in her own that Wynonna had gotten her for her sixteenth birthday. 

“Let’s be honest,” Waverly sighed, “Wynonna will always be her favorite.”

Wynonna parked the bike precariously between two tightly parked cars and Evie jumped off. She pulled off her helmet, dark wavy hair spilling out, and put it in a large saddle bag on the side. Wynonna hung her own helmet from the handlebars.

“Do you think Wynonna actually thinks the two of them make a biker gang?” Nicole said as Wynonna said something to Evie and they did some sort of complicated handshake. Despite the decades of drinking and bad decisions, Wynonna somehow had aged the best of them all. Except for her hair that was now completely grey. 

Evie practically ran up to her mothers, dark eyes shining with excitement. “Hey! Aunt Nonna said she’d help me get a bike as a graduation present!”

“No,” Nicole said firmly, “No way. Too dangerous. What about the Civic that guy’s selling down the street?”

“Ma!” Evie huffed, “I’ve been riding bikes since I was sixteen.”

“And I couldn’t take your training wheels off your real bike until you were thirteen. So what does that say?”

“Hey,” Waverly said firmly, “We’re about to get married. Can we save these arguments for another day?”

“Fine, sorry,” mother and daughter said simultaneously.

A car pulled up and Luke got out, Alice getting out of the driver’s side. Shapiro folded herself out of the back, pulling some camping chairs out with her. Nicole leaned back against the cool wall of the state building as they approached. Luke opened the chair for Nicole and gestured for her to sit but she shook her head and directed Waverly to it instead. She took another chair from Eliza and opened it for herself.

“Nothing makes me feel younger than having to have a chair to sit in for an hour wait,” she said dryly, even if her knee was feeling better as soon as she sat down.

“You were never young,” Wynonna said stretching out her back. Shapiro rolled her eyes and hit Wynonna’s stomach.

“Look who’s talking,” she said with a smirk.

Wynonna pretended to be offended and shook her head. “Live fast die young.”

“Then shouldn’t you be dead already?”

“Mom! Ma! Please stop talking about dying,” Alice said as she typed something out on her phone before flipping it closed. “Which reminds me we have an appointment with our lawyer about your wills on Monday.”

Wynonna scoffed, “Not even greying and she’s trying to take all our stuff.”

Alice shot her mom a look and straightened out her suit jacket. Nicole always found it hilarious how different Alice was from any of her parents. Of Eliza, Wynonna and John Henry, she probably took after him the most in a weird way. Very proper, life together. Unlike Wynonna who was still in the bounty hunting business and had never worn a suit in her life.

“I got this form for you two yesterday,” Alice said pulling a manilla envelope from her purse and handing it to Waverly, “I filled out what I could but left the rest for you.”

Nicole leaned over as Waverly pulled the marriage license papers from the envelope. She pulled her reading glasses from her pocket and slipped them on, thin gold frames standing stark against her face. Nicole smiled, warmth filling her heart as she took the pen Alice handed her and squinted at the papers.

Waverly looked up and caught Nicole’s stare. “What?”

“You’re just beautiful,” Nicole whispered.

Waverly blushed. “Stop it.”

“It’s true.”

“No, please stop,” Wynonna grumbled as she leaned more into Eliza. Nicole absentmindedly flipped Wynonna off.

“It’s getting hot,” Nicole complained, undoing the top button of the long coat she was wearing. “Whose bright idea was it to wear these jackets over our clothes?”

“Yours,” Waverly pointed out with a grin, “So that we didn’t see each other’s outfits.”

Nicole tipped her head back. “Why must I be so smart?”

“Hey, Ma,” Luke said excitedly as he tucked in his button up shirt, “Like my shirt?”

Nicole noticed his shirt was black with a Star Wars pattern on it, a white bowtie with blue markings around his neck. Her heart swelled with pride. He was basically the spitting image of Waverly. Honey brown hair and bright hazel eyes. “Looks good, kid.”

“I almost wore my Darth Maul one-”

“Luke!”

“-but didn’t want to ruin your wedding day.”

Nicole sighed. “Twenty-five years I’ve raised you, and my one regret is letting you see the new trilogy.”

Wynonna and Evie snorted at the same time. 

“Nerds,” Wynonna said under her breath.

“Tell me about it,” Evie grumbled. Luke pushed his glasses up his nose and shot a look at his sister.

“Kids,” Waverly sighed, “ _And_ Wynonna.”

Wynonna just shrugged and Shapiro looped their arms together. Nicole couldn’t help but smile at the two, even if they hated it. Wynonna in particular was always trying to make a point that they weren’t “gross” like Nicole and Waverly. Nicole knew it wasn’t true.

“Oh, looks like they’re opening the doors,” Alice said checking her watch, “Okay, fifteen minutes. It’s go time. Aunt Nic, can I put the chair back in the car?”

“Oh yeah,” Nicole said standing up and folding her chair. Waverly stood and Nicole folded her chair too, handing them to Luke. Waverly slipped her glasses back into her coat pocket just as Nicole reached for her. She hooked her finger into the gap between two buttons of Waverly’s coat and drew her close.

Waverly blushed, arms automatically looping around Nicole’s neck. Nicole placed a kiss on her forehead then on her nose before Waverly pressed her face into her neck. 

“Now’s your last chance to get rid of me,” Nicole smiled. Waverly squinted like she was thinking and tapped her finger on Nicole’s chin. Nicole ducked her head a little to kiss the tip of her finger and Waverly giggled like she was a college girl again.

“I guess I’ll keep you,” she whispered.

“I’m a lucky woman,” Nicole said leaning down to kiss Waverly soundly.

“Alright, Haught Shot, save it for the wedding night,” Wynonna said, pulling a flask from her jacket. Nicole was convinced Wynonna was going to live forever because she’d probably pickled most of her insides by now.

Evie pulled a face.

A woman came out and propped open the front door of the building and Nicole felt her stomach flip with excitement. Waverly pulled away and held the manila envelope containing all of their documents in front of her. Nicole laced her fingers with Waverly’s and they walked into the building.

Their footsteps reverberated against the granite of the government building as they walked in. They went through the metal detectors and followed the signs to the County Clerk’s office. The woman behind the window was cheery and took their paperwork. Nicole was only half paying attention to what was going on. The only thing she was truly aware of was Waverly’s hand in her own and their family waiting impatiently in the back of the room. Not to mention the fact that in a matter of minutes, she could finally call Waverly her wife. Legally.

She didn’t think this day would ever come. She didn’t know if this moment would _stay_. There were plenty of people trying to change the law even as they signed the papers to legally bind them forever. Part of Nicole, the pessimistic side that had seen the worst of man, was sure the law would be overturned any day now. But she wanted to be married for Waverly, for their kids. Their two beautiful kids.

Waverly pulled her away from the little window and they followed the friendly woman into the hallway and to the next room. It was basically just a little courtroom and the woman beamed at them.

“The Justice of the Peace will be with you in about ten minutes. Feel free to do what you have to do to get ready,” she said before slipping back out the door.

Butterflies fluttered in Nicole’s stomach as the realization dawned on her. This was it. This was their moment. Waverly turned to look at her, a smile spreading over her face, and Nicole couldn’t help but smile back.

“Aunt Waves,” Alice said as she came up behind Waverly, a pink flower crown in her hand and a smile on her face. Nicole leaned down and kissed Waverly one more time before dropping her hand so that Waverly could go to Alice.

“Haught, come here,” Shapiro said reaching for Nicole. She stepped away from Waverly and turned to Eliza. Her friend had a few more lines on her face then when she had come back from Vietnam, but she was basically the same. A little slower, but she really couldn’t slow down much to keep up with Wynonna the way she had for all these years.

Nicole unbuttoned her jacket to reveal the tailored suit underneath. Wynonna and Shapiro had gone with her the week before to get it, insisting she couldn’t wear something from her closet that Waverly had already seen. Wynonna had told her it wasn’t too late for her to disapprove of Nicole as Waverly’s chosen spouse.

Shapiro took the boutonnière from the plastic box and pinned it to the front of Nicole’s suit. She shrugged off her jacket and draped it over one of the nearby benches.

“How do I look?” she asked running a nervous hand through her hair.

“You look great, Haught,” Eliza said with a wink. She clapped her hand on Nicole’s shoulder and shook her head. “You know, you’re marrying the girl of my dreams. But it’s okay because I got the next best thing.”

Wynonna snorted from next to her. “Fucking asshole,” she muttered under her breath even as the corners of her lips tilted in the smallest of smiles.

A door at the far end of the room creaked open and they turned to see the judge walking in. A portly woman with dark complexion, she smiled widely at the group as she walked to the middle of the room. 

“Can I have the couple, please?” she said as she stood at the podium. Nicole looked back at Shapiro, Luke now by her side, both with wide smiles on their faces. 

Shapiro grabbed her shoulders and squeezed. “You know, I think Waverly’s what kept you alive that day,” Shapiro said, voice cracking, “And I think she’s what’s kept you alive this long, you old fart.”

Nicole chuckled, trying to keep the tears at bay. “You’re right. But I guess you helped a little that day too,” Nicole said. 

“I couldn’t leave my best friend in the middle of a rice field,” Shapiro said matter-of-factly. Nicole pulled Shapiro into a tight hug and shook her head. “I’m happy for you,” Shapiro whispered. 

Nicole pulled away from the hug and Luke almost immediately hugged her afterwards. She chuckled and hugged her son who reminded her so much of Waverly. She felt another set of arms envelope her and smiled when she saw Evie hugging her from the side. Nicole wrapped her arms around both of them, tears still threatening to fall down her face. 

“I love you both,” Nicole said kissing the top of Evie’s head and the side of Luke’s. 

“Love you too, Ma,” they mumbled almost simultaneously. 

Nicole patted their backs and squeezed one last time. “Come on, it’s time for me to marry your mother.”

They pulled away and Nicole pretended not to see as Evie tried to subtly wipe away a tear from her cheek. 

She looked over at Waverly and felt the air leave her lungs. Waverly stood there in a simple white dress, all lace and sheer fabric, with sleeves that went fully down her arms and a pink flower crown in her hair. If Nicole let herself, she could imagine they were twenty again and laying on the campus lawn lost in their newfound love. Even after forty years, two kids and countless trials together, Nicole still wondered how she ever got so lucky. 

“You look handsome,” Waverly said as they naturally gravitated towards each other. “The most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

Nicole blushed and shook her head, “That’s you, darlin’.”

Waverly blushed and tucked some hair behind her ear as Nicole reached for her hand. She squeezed her hand as Waverly held her arm close to her chest and they walked up towards the judge together. 

“I’m Judge Watkins,” she said with a polite nod, “And you are Nicole and Waverly, correct?”

Nicole nodded and reached for the judges hand, Waverly still holding tight to her other arm. “Nicole,” she introduced herself, “Thank you.”

Judge Watkins shook her head and after shaking Nicole’s hand, put a hand to her heart. “Thank you two for letting me perform your ceremony. It’s such an historic day and I’m just glad to be a part of it.”

Nicole felt her chest expand with even more joy than she thought possible and she nodded in thanks to avoid any embarrassing rambling.

“Now let me get you two facing each other in front of me,” she said and Nicole shuffled into place. She stood on one side of the judge, facing Waverly who was in front of her on the other side. Everyone else sort of gathered around them on either side. “Do you two have rings?”

“Oh, right,” Nicole said tapping the pockets of her suit jacket until she felt the two rings Waverly had told her not to lose this morning. She smiled at her soon-to-be-wife who looked a little less than amused as she pulled the rings from her pocket. Nicole handed Waverly her ring and she kept Waverly’s.

“Great!” Judge Watkins said pulling out a little booklet, “Now, let’s begin.”

Nicole’s stomach twisted in nerves as if forty years with one woman wasn’t as much commitment as signing a piece of paper. If in the first few months of her back and forth with Waverly someone had told Nicole she’d be marrying her someday, she probably would have laughed in their face. Her sweet, free living Waverly who hid all her fears behind her flippancy. Her Waverly that she knew she needed but wasn’t sure she wanted at some points. They had watched each other change over the first year they were together. Waverly from a selfish, scared girl into a confident woman. Nicole from what felt like a shell of a person back into herself again.

Waverly reached for Nicole’s hands, taking both of them in her own. She squeezed to get Nicole’s attention and gave her a wink.

Judge Watkins cleared her throat before she began. 

“The wedding ring is a symbol of unity, a circle unbroken, without beginning or end. And today, Nicole Haught and Waverly Earp give and receive these rings as demonstrations of their vows to make their life one, to work at all times to create a love that is whole and unbroken, and to love each other without end.”

Nicole curled her fingers to tickle Waverly’s palms with the pads of her fingers. Waverly bit her lip to suppress a giggle and Nicole smiled at the sight.

“Nicole,” Watkins said, “Please say your vows.”

Nicole nodded and dropped one of Waverly’s hands to reach into her jacket pocket for her vows. She had spent days poring over them. And by that, she meant staring blankly at a piece of paper and waiting for words to magically appear. She had finally come up with some she was satisfied with but they never felt...right. Her fingers brushed over the folded paper and she thought for a moment before pulling her hand back, vows still in her pocket. Nicole took Waverly’s left hand in her own, hovering the ring over her ring finger.

“Waverly, I don’t even know where to begin,” Nicole began, voice soft and eyes downcast. She smiled when Waverly squeezed her hand, and looked up into hazel eyes. They were the same eyes she’d been gazing at for decades now but she still kept seeing new things behind them. “I think I loved you before I knew you,” she confessed, “I saw you biking on campus that day and I just _knew_ in my heart I was going to be yours. Even if you didn’t want me.”

A few people chuckled and Waverly blushed. Nicole shrugged as she continued.

“It wasn’t easy. I’m not going to stand here and say our love was easy...but it was worth it. Our path to each other was the second hardest thing I’ve ever done. The first was leaving you on the bus that day. You stuck with me through everything, even when you probably shouldn’t have.” Nicole swallowed thickly, her throat closing. “I knew even before all this that I loved you more than I have ever loved anyone. There was a time I didn’t know if I would ever be able to call you mine. And now we have two beautiful kids, a family...a life. A life that we built together that I wouldn’t trade for the world.”

Nicole licked her lips, fighting the tears stinging her eyes.

“I love you, Waverly Earp. I’ve always loved you and I could never imagine living my life with anyone else,” Nicole said, her voice still soft and cracking with tears. “I’m so lucky that you chose me. And I’m going to spend the rest of my life falling more and more in love with you every day.”

Waverly let out a watery chuckle and Nicole resisted the urge to lean forward and kiss her. That part hadn’t come yet. Instead Nicole slipped the wedding ring she had snuck from Chris’ room forever ago over Waverly’s finger until it nestled against the worn silver band. It was her grandmother’s ring. One she had tucked away for years waiting for this moment.

Waverly sniffled, looking down at the ring before looking up at Nicole. Her heart swelled in her chest at the sight. 

“Now, Waverly,” the judge said, “Say your vows.”

“Right,” Waverly said as Alice handed her a piece of paper. Waverly took it with shaky fingers and unfolded it. She took a deep breath and smiled shyly up at Nicole. “I’m a planner.”

“I know, baby,” Nicole said winking at Waverly.

Licking her lips, Waverly held the paper in front of her and began her vows.

“Forty years ago the idea of a relationship was...the last thing I wanted. I ran from it at full speed. I ran from you and I ran from...love. I wasn’t prepared for you. Nothing in my life could have prepared me for you,” Waverly said with a shrug. “I wasn’t prepared for your kind eyes and even kinder heart or for how gentle your hands were when they held me. They were so gentle and yet they broke me. They took everything I thought I believed in, what I thought my life would be, and completely destroyed it.”

Nicole felt her own hands shaking, a tear falling down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away with a sniff.

“I thought...that I would never love someone. But you proved me wrong and I’m so glad that you did,” Waverly said with a small shake of her head. “You’re the love of my life. My soldier...and I’m so glad you never gave up on me. I can’t wait to see what the next forty years brings us.”

With tears streaming down Waverly’s cheeks, Nicole didn’t bother holding hers back. Waverly slipped the ring onto Nicole’s finger with shaky hands. As soon as it was on, Nicole held both of Waverly’s hands tightly in her own. She didn’t think she’d be this emotional, but everything just felt so...right. Like one little thing had been out of place and now suddenly it clicked.

“Nicole Haught and Waverly Earp, just as two very different threads woven in opposite directions can form a beautiful tapestry, so can your two lives merge together to form a very beautiful marriage,” Judge Watkins said, “The two of you have agreed to live together in Matrimony, have promised your love for each other by these vows, I now declare you to be Wife and Wife.”

Nicole heard sniffling around them and glanced over to see Wynonna trying to subtly wipe tears from her eyes, Shapiro’s arm around her waist. She was for sure going to give her shit about that later.

“You may now kiss the bride.”

Nicole pulled Waverly against her and wrapped her arms around her waist. Waverly’s arms looped around her neck and they just stared at each other for a moment. Nicole pressed her forehead to Waverly’s, nose brushing along the bridge of Waverly’s as she smiled. Her heart fluttered like the first time she kissed Waverly under mistletoe in Shorty’s and she leaned down to capture her lips.

She felt Waverly sigh against her lips and smiled into the kiss. The soft sound of applause around them brought them back to the situation and Nicole pulled away even as their faces stayed close. Waverly was beaming through her tears, fingers twisting in the short hairs at the back of Nicole’s neck as they stood there. 

“We’re married,” Waverly whispered.

“We are,” Nicole said placing a soft kiss on Waverly’s forehead. Wynonna and Shapiro hugged Waverly from behind and Nicole felt Luke’s arms hug her from the side. Nicole kissed the side of his head and dropped an arm from around Waverly to hug their son. Alice joined at one point and Waverly had her head nestled into Nicole’s neck as they all hugged. Nicole let herself soak in the moment, her and Waverly at the core of this messy but beautiful family they had brought together.

“Alright alright,” Wynonna said from somewhere in their hug, “Let’s go drink.”

***

“Hey, wifey,” Waverly called from the couch. Nicole popped her head back around from the kitchen where everyone was sitting around the table playing poker. Wynonna always insisted on poker when she got to a certain point in a whiskey bottle. Nicole had opted out of this game with the alcohol clouding her mind. So she chose to lean against the counter and watch as she nursed her wine.

Waverly had dismissed herself to the restroom a few minutes ago and had apparently only gone back to the living room instead of the kitchen.

“Yes, baby?” Nicole said taking in how Waverly was basically draped over the couch, half drained glass hanging from her hand. Her flower crown was long abandoned but she was still in her white dress. Nicole had lost her jacket somewhere and rolled up the sleeves of her dress shirt.

“C’mere,” Waverly whispered with a look in her eye Nicole hadn’t seen in...a while.

Nicole raised an eyebrow at her wife and looked back to where everyone was playing loud drunken poker at the table. Except for Evie who’d had one glass of champagne and was passed out in her room. There was no way she was making it through college. Nicole realized that no one was going to care if she slipped away for a bit.

She drained her wine glass and set it on the counter before moving to the living room. Waverly took a short sip out of her glass and let her arm hang off the side of the couch, wrist limp as the bottom edge of her glass just barely scraped the floor. Her other arm stretched towards Nicole as a slow smile spread over her face.

Smirk firmly in place, Nicole sat on the edge of the couch near Waverly’s hip. Waverly’s fingers tickled up Nicole’s arm to the undone bowtie around her neck.

“Hey, baby,” Nicole said slowly, hand on Waverly’s hip. “How are you feeling?”

Waverly smiled dreamily, eyes blinking slowly as she tugged on Nicole’s collar to pull her upper body over her own. Nicole obliged and kissed the corner of Waverly’s mouth.

“I can’t remember the last time I was drunk,” Waverly whispered.

“I can,” Nicole smiled, “Last Thanksgiving. You were drinking wine the entire time we made dinner-”

“If Wynonna hadn’t insisted on making the turkey!”

“-and ended up crying during the commercials on tv-”

“She was stressing me out! I had to cope!”

“-and passed out before dessert.”

Waverly giggled and shook her head. “I don’t remember that.”

“Because you were drunk,” Nicole teased as she kissed Waverly again. Their lips moved together slowly, tongues tangling as a slow heat built between them. 

“Nicky,” Waverly cooed between kisses, “we’re married.”

The heat curled through Nicole’s stomach and lungs like smoke and she smiled. 

“We’re married,” Nicole said, “I can hardly believe it.”

“Are you drunk?” Waverly asked suddenly, eyes wide and sparkling even in the low light of their living room.

Nicole snorted, “A little bit.”

Waverly giggled and it just made Nicole snicker again. She pressed playful kisses along Waverly’s jaw which only made her laugh more. Waverly let her glass settle on the floor, cupped Nicole’s face between her hands and pulled their lips back together in a hard kiss. After a few moments she pushed Nicole’s head back so that they could look at each other.

“ _Goin’ to the chapel and we’re, gonna get married,”_ Waverly sang quietly.

“Bit on the nose don’t you think?” Nicole said kissing Waverly again. Waverly deepened the kiss instead of answering and Nicole surely wasn’t going to complain. She moved so that Nicole was slotted between her legs and tried to pull her more on top of her. Nicole chuckled as they maneuvered on the couch so that she was laying over Waverly, their lips never disconnecting. 

Waverly covered one of Nicole’s hands on her hip with her own and moved it, slipping it under the hem of her dress and up her thigh before she let go. Nicole’s fingers continued the path up to her hip and expected to bump against the hem of her panties but instead she was just met with smooth skin. She groaned, the fire in her stomach only growing.

“Hey, Nicky,” Waverly whispered as she brushed her lips along Nicole’s jaw, fingers gliding with practiced ease through red hair.

Nicole sucked Waverly’s bottom lip into her mouth and hummed in response, mouth too busy to bother with words. Waverly’s tongue flicked over the front of Nicole’s teeth as she squeezed Waverly’s ass to bring their hips closer.

“Touch me,” Waverly breathed, “Please.”

“I am,” Nicole quipped as she kissed behind Waverly’s ear.

Waverly groaned, blunt nails scraping against Nicole’s scalp and making her shiver. “Ass. You know what I mean.”

Nicole smiled against Waverly’s skin and teased her fingers along the inside of her thigh. Waverly practically melted into the couch as Nicole brushed her fingers through damp curls. She paused for a moment and chuckled, running her tongue along the shell of Waverly’s ear as she continued.

“You know what this reminds me of?” she whispered hotly in Waverly’s ear, “The first time we-”

“Fucked. Yes,” Waverly said impatiently, “When I was much younger and had much more time to waste.”

Nicole felt herself fall a little more in love with Waverly in that moment. She thought it was impossible, but there were so many times she found herself falling just that much more in love with her.

“Impatient,” Nicole scolded, nipping at the lobe of Waverly’s ear. Her fingers slipped down to her entrance and gathering the wetness there. Waverly sighed in relief as Nicole’s fingers began to circle her clit with practiced ease. She turned her head so that she could kiss Nicole, their lips sliding together as the heat built between them. 

A loud yell came from the kitchen and Nicole jolted back to reality a little bit. She flushed and ceased her movements. “Maybe we should move upstair-”

“Don’t stop,” Waverly groaned, grinding herself into Nicole’s hand, “Please.”

Nicole kissed Waverly hard, sure their lips would bruise, as she slipped two fingers into her without warning. Waverly’s back arched off the couch and Nicole swallowed her moan as she curled her fingers inside her. Feeling Waverly’s - her _wife’s_ body pressed completely against her, Nicole felt lightheaded. 

Affection swelled in her chest as she pulled back a little to watch Waverly’s face as she moved inside her. Her fingers curled and stroked in a way she had perfected over the years. Nicole could probably make Waverly come in her sleep. She had it down to an art form. If she wanted Waverly to come quickly, she twisted her wrist and curled her fingers into the spot that made her toes curl every time. If she wanted her to come hard, she would stroke her walls in time with her thumb circling her clit. 

Nicole had a lot of things hidden away in her brain. Birthdays, police codes, movie quotes, random facts from cases she hadn’t worked for years. But the most important and the thing she had memorized the best was Waverly’s body. It was only natural after worshipping it for as many years as she had. It still boggled her mind that Waverly was _hers_.

Waverly had been close before Nicole even touched her. She could tell by the abundance of wetness between her thighs. Nicole wasn’t surprised; Waverly always got randy when she’d been drinking. 

Nicole palmed Waverly’s breast over her dress with her free hand, cursing the tight fabric and limited access. Waverly didn’t seem to mind though with the way her chest pressed up into Nicole’s hand and a leg moved around her waist. Waverly gasped as Nicole’s thumb moved faster around her clit and Nicole kissed her again to drown out the sound.

She felt Waverly tightening around her fingers and propped herself up on her elbow as she increased her pace. Waverly’s heel pressed into her ass and the coil in Nicole’s stomach tightened at the feeling. She was so turned on that it was almost painful, but she was determined to make Waverly come before someone decided to wander into the living room. One of Waverly’s hands slipped from Nicole’s hair and fumbled with the button of Nicole’s pants as if she could read her mind.

“Waves,” Nicole whispered, “It’s okay-”

“Baby, let me,” Waverly said as the button of her pants finally came free and Waverly’s hand slipped into the front of them. Nicole’s rhythm faltered slightly at the first touch of Waverly’s hand to her overheated sex. She grunted and her hips jolted forward as she found her pace again. 

Nicole didn’t need to be convinced any further, she dropped her head to Waverly’s shoulder, turning it slightly so she could still kiss her neck. Waverly began to flutter around Nicole’s fingers and Nicole pulled back a little to watch Waverly’s face as she brought her over the edge.

Waverly’s brow furrowed, jaw unhinged as she came with a squeak and quiet sigh. Nicole’s hips pressed down into Waverly’s fingers and the heat low in her belly exploded unexpectedly. She kissed Waverly to hopefully dampen the sound of her moan. 

As they both came down from their highs, Nicole placed soft kisses along Waverly’s jaw. Her lips dragged lazily across her skin, tongue occasionally peeking out to taste her. Waverly hummed in contentment as Nicole carefully pulled herself out of Waverly and fixed the skirt of her dress so she wouldn’t be flashing anyone if they walked in.

“I love you,” Waverly whispered with a blissful smile on her face, “So much.”

“That’s just the orgasm talking,” Nicole teased as she waited for Waverly to pull her hand from her pants. When she did, Nicole rolled so she was laying on her side besides Waverly, back pressed to the back of the couch.

Waverly shot her a look that wasn’t particularly intimidating considering the way her cheeks were flushed and pupils blown. “You’re right, the only reason I married you was for the orgasms.”

“Not a bad reason,” Nicole quipped, propping her head on her hand, elbow in the couch. Her fingers, still wet from Waverly’s release, traced a soft pattern on Waverly’s thigh. Waverly twisted her fingers into the hairs at the base of Nicole’s skull and pulled the redhead down to her lips. Their lips moved together slowly, their kiss thick with passion. Waverly reached for Nicole’s hand that was trailing along her thigh and gripped her wrist, pulling it up to her face. She pulled away from Nicole’s lips, their faces still close as she brought Nicole’s fingers to her mouth.

Nicole felt her entire mouth go dry as Waverly ran her tongue along Nicole’s fingers. She let out an obscene sound as Waverly took both of Nicole’s fingers into her mouth, looking up at her through her lashes.

“Baby,” Nicole groaned, the fire starting in her belly again and a thrill running up her spine. Once Waverly seemed pleased that Nicole’s fingers were clean, she released them with a pop. Nicole surged forward and connected their lips in a bruising kiss. She felt Waverly smile into the kiss and she cupped her wife’s cheek, deepening it.

Waverly put her hand flat on Nicole’s chest and slowed down the kiss until she whispered, “Dance with me.”

Nicole hummed but continued to kiss Waverly, hand on her hip and pulling their bodies tight together.

“Let’s go upstairs,” Nicole said. Upstairs where she could undress Waverly and do anything she wanted to her. No worries of anyone walking in on them like they were two teenagers humping on a couch. Waverly chuckled and slowed their kiss to soft pecks.

“Just one dance,” Waverly said, “We didn’t have our first dance.”

“I think we just did.”

“ _Real_ dance.”

Nicole sighed, unable to resist the small smile that tugged at the corners of Waverly’s lips. 

“Fine.”

Waverly’s smile widened and she leaned up to peck Nicole’s lips one more time before pushing her back. Waverly stood up far too gracefully for how much alcohol Nicole knew was in her system. She walked over to a speaker set up that Luke had gotten them last year. It played records - just what they were looking for - but Luke had also hooked it up to an iPod that he had loaded all their music onto. Waverly fiddled with the iPod for a moment before a song started to play.

Waverly smiled over her shoulder at Nicole as she moved her hips to the familiar beat and Nicole laughed.

_Sweet wonderful you. You make me happy with the things you do-_

Nicole stood up from the couch with a small grimace as her knee straightened back out. But she could hardly bring herself to mind when she was still riding high off of her orgasm. Waverly continued to sway her hips to the beat as Nicole wrapped her arms around her.

_I never did believe in miracles, but I've a feeling it's time to try. I never did believe in the ways of magic, but I'm beginning to wonder why-_

They moved to the music, but definitely not on beat. The alcohol in their systems as well as the faster beat was throwing them off. Nicole didn’t care though. One arm around Waverly’s waist and the other holding her hand...everything was perfect. Nicole leaned down to kiss Waverly when she suddenly jerked away.

“Oh!” she said, “I have a better song.”

Nicole chuckled and paused their dancing as Waverly dropped her hand to change the song. She brushed her fingers along Waverly’s lower back until a softer song came on. Waverly took Nicole’s hand again and beamed back at her. Nicole pressed their foreheads together as the song began, soft smile on her lips.

_I, I'm I'm so in love with you. Whatever you want to do, is alright with me-_

“Do we have a song?” Waverly asked as they swayed to the beat.

Nicole hummed and shrugged, “I think we have a lot of songs.”

“You think so?”

“I know so,” Nicole said as Waverly nestled her head against her neck. “Like whenever I hear ‘Just One Look’ I think of you. And how I’m pretty sure it was love at first sight for me.”

“Really?” Waverly asked, little puffs of air from her mouth tickling the skin of Nicole’s neck. She nodded and drew her wife even closer.

“I don’t think I can choose just one song for our relationship,” Nicole said, tilting her head as she thought, “We’re just-...there’s too many songs.”

Waverly hummed as they continued to dance. The only light in the living room was the light streaming in from the kitchen. Someone must have won their hand in poker because there was suddenly lots of yelling and some cursing. Nicole smiled to herself.

_Let me say that since, baby, since we've been together. Loving you forever, is what I need. Let me, be the one you come running to. I'll never be untrue-_

“We did good, didn’t we?” Waverly whispered against her neck. The words made goosebumps erupt over Nicole’s skin and seep into her pores. She nuzzled the side of Waverly’s head and breathed her in. Still incense and flowers. 

Some days it felt like nothing had changed since college. Nicole would wake up feeling twenty years old again and be shocked when she looked in the mirror and saw the beginnings of wrinkles looking back at her. Other days it felt like a lifetime had passed. Dwelling on her memories sometimes felt like she was watching a stranger through a window.

“We did good,” Nicole confirmed. “We did real good.”

Waverly pulled away a little to look up at Nicole. She felt herself being pulled in by Waverly’s eyes, deep pools of hazel that could trap her forever and she wouldn’t complain a single bit.

“I love you,” Waverly whispered, “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For loving me back.”

“How could I not? You’re the most amazingly complicated girl I’ve ever had the honor of knowing. Some days I wonder if this is all a dream. Like...maybe I’ll wake up in the hospital and it’ll be nineteen sixty-nine again except my legs will be blown off.”

“Don’t say that,” Waverly chastised. Her eyes darted over to the mantel where a picture of Nicole in her army uniform sat, her Purple Heart displayed next to it. It was nestled along with all their happy memories. Waverly holding Luke in the hospital, the both of them with Evie the day they signed her adoption papers and Waverly walking to accept her Ph.D from Harvard among other things.

Nicole watched her wife as she spilled over the memories, a small smile gracing her features. Hazel eyes met brown once more and Nicole smiled. “I would do all of it again.”

“All of it?”

Nicole nodded, “I would get blown up a thousand times if it meant being with you.”

“Sap,” Waverly whispered before connecting their lips in a deep kiss.”

_Oh baby. Let's, let's stay together. Lovin' you whether, whether. Times are good or bad, happy or sad. Oh, oh, oh, oh, yeah-_

**Author's Note:**

> I have a Spotify playlist for this fic if you're interested. Here is the link to the playlist in [fic order](https://open.spotify.com/user/1214138486/playlist/5KhitWET4l2N417v0KxnvS). 
> 
> If you want to yell at me, find me here [Twitter](https://twitter.com/bootsncatz) or here [Tumblr](http://bootz-n-catz.tumblr.com).


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